


Thunderstorms

by smiling_sunflowers



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Human, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-26
Updated: 2020-11-26
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:42:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27727625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smiling_sunflowers/pseuds/smiling_sunflowers
Summary: Patton helps Logan through a storm.tw // thunderstorms, needles
Relationships: Logic | Logan Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders
Comments: 2
Kudos: 17





	Thunderstorms

**Author's Note:**

> tw // thunderstorms, needles
> 
> also, this is just me directly projecting onto Patton

The library was rather empty on that particular Thursday afternoon. It was rather quiet as well, as a library should be, save for the gentle pattering of rain on the roof. 

Patton was sitting quite contentedly, swinging his legs a little, eager to get up from his seat, as he had been sitting still for quite a while. "Thanks again for the tutoring, Logan! I'm literally helpless when it comes to chemistry."

"Seeing as I am helping you, you clearly aren't helpless," Logan stated, "but you're welcome, regardless."

Patton noticed the rain outside begin to pick up. "Oh dear." He walked over to the window, bringing his hand up to trace the path of one of the many falling raindrops. "It's a good thing we're finished now, so we can get back to the dorms before it starts getting really bad."

"Yes. If we leave now, we could likely manage to remain relatively dry by travelling under building awnings.

The two students began to gather their things when a rumbling thunder came from outside. Patton heard Logan's breathing hitch. He paused from packing up his books to ask, "You okay, Logan?" 

Logan looked up to him, slightly wide eyes, but responses with his usual, steady tone. "Yes. Of course. We really should be going now, though." 

With that, the two slung their respective bookbags onto their shoulders and started making their way toward the exit. 

A minute later, another roar of thunder came. Logan stopped in his tracks, causing Patton to turn to him. His breathing was increasing in pace and a bit shallower than before. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"I, um, I just remembered that I have something else to do. I'm going to stay here for a while." 

Before he could leave, Patton locked eyes with him and placed a hand on his arm, ignoring the way it made his heart flutter to keep his concerned focus on Logan. "Is there something wrong?"

As another roll of thunder came, Logan tensed and Patton could see tears beginning to form in his eyes. "Logan, are you..." he paused, wanting to be considerate with his words and softening his tone, "Are you afraid of thunderstorms?"

"Um, I -" A new round of rumbles cut off his thought, and he gasped. "I need to sit down." His eyes bounced around the particular area of the library in which they had stopped before quickly deciding on a corner between a bookshelf in the historical fiction section and a wall.

Patton followed, sitting beside Logan as his tutor tucked himself into the corner and brought his knees to his chest. Patton could tell that he was trying to do a breathing exercise, but his breaths were strained and Logan seemed to drop the effort rather quickly before his ragged breaths returned.

"Um..." Patton wasn't quite sure what to do. He had helped Virgil through panic attacks before, but this wasn't really the same thing. He didn't really know how to approach the situation. Finally, he decided on gently asking, "Would a hug help?"

Logan hesitated before nodding, so Patton wrapped his arms around him, trying to give him a steady reassurance of his presence and safety. Logan felt a bit stiff at first but seemed to melt into him after a moment, his breathing still ragged. Patton hummed quietly from a song he couldn't quite remember, but whose melody gave him a feeling of safety, warmth. He hoped it would help Logan feel that way, too.

After a few minutes, in which Logan had returned to his breathing exercise and seemingly steadied his breath, Patton heard a quiet voice next to him. "Thunder is the result of an air collapse of a channel formulated by lightning which creates a sound wave."

"Hm?"

"Lightning is an electrostatic discharge during which two electrically charged atmospheric regions or ground areas temporarily equalize themselves, releasing a tremendous amount of energy. The typical thunderstorm is only fifteen miles in diameter and lasts only thirty minutes. 

"Oh. Um..." Patton wasn't sure what he was supposed to say. This was seemingly out of the blue to him. "... neat?"

"I know so many things about thunderstorms," Logan began to explain, "I've studied them from the formation of the clouds to the effects on technological development. I've memorized facts upon facts, and learned so much about them that there is no reason for me to react this way. Yet everytime I hear thunder, I'm reduced to this... this -" Thunder rumbled again, and he found himself unable to finish his sentence as he clung closer to Patton. He sighed as a fresh flow of tears fell down his cheeks. "What's wrong with me?" 

"Nothing," Patton made sure to quickly assure him, "Absolutely nothing is wrong with you. Everybody has fears, Logan. I'm afraid of spiders."

"Yes, but there is absolutely no rational reason for me to be afraid of this. I don't understand."

"Hm..." An idea came to him. "Do you... wanna hear a story?"

Logan nodded, looking a bit confused with his eyebrows slightly furrowed. "I suppose." 

"Okay, so," Patton began, "I remember when I was younger, I loved going to the doctor to get shots because once I figured out that it was just gonna be a little pinch feeling, I wasn't worried at all. And then, at some point in high school, I started thinking a lot more. Like, instead of just thinking about it as a little pinch, I thought about the mechanics, and the anticipation, and the process, and just... everything felt like it was multiplied a trillion times. 

"And the next time I got my vaccine shot, I passed out. My mom said I turned red and then I lost all color and then I was shaking. They said it was because of the anxiety I had about getting the shot. I had tried to pretend that I wasn't scared and then, in the moment, there was just so much fear going through me that the tension was too much for my body to handle. That did not help my fear of needles. It never happened again because I kind of learned to deal with it, but I still get so scared every time I think about getting another shot.

"So don't worry about this little fear. It's okay. We all have them. I mean, I'm a nursing major who's afraid of needles. How stupid is that?"

"Needles are a relatively common fear, Patton. That's nothing to be fretting over."

"But isn't it pretty ridiculous?” he asked, laughing a little, "I know the purpose behind them and how they work. I've studied the way they go between muscle fibers to slowly disperse the medicine. I know that there isn't anything about it to be scared of. Logically, there's no reason for me to have a fear of needles, but even thinking about it right now is making me a little shaky."

"Well, you can't control -" Logan stopped mid-sentence, his face flashing with a realization at Patton's point.

"Exactly," Patton began, "That's exactly what I'm trying to tell you. You can know how something works and the logic behind it and have a complete understanding that there's no reason to be afraid. But logical understanding sometimes just can't win over emotions. Sometimes we're just afraid, and that's okay. We can't beat ourselves up for feeling things that might not always make a whole lot of sense."

"I…" Logan looked down and sighed, "Maybe you're right. It's just hard not to… despise the way I get like this."

"That's totally understandable. No one likes being afraid. It's alright. And talking about it always helps, so…" Patton tentatively took his tutor's hand and gave it a squeeze, causing him to look up into the former's eyes. "just know you've got at least one person here to get through it with."

Logan gave a low chuckle. He was still crying, but now it was because of the overwhelming sense of love and safety the person next to him was giving him. And his fear of thunder. It's not like that had gone away. But Patton's arms were so warm, and he was still humming some unnameable tune, and Logan felt seen and safe and loved. 

So they sat there like that, nestled between the wall and the bookshelf, for a while, Logan curling in on himself and Patton surrounding him with a firm, protective embrace. When the thunder would come again, Logan would lean a bit further into Patton, who rubbed gentle circles on his arm and whispered sweet words to him. Everything was okay. And it was in this manner that the two waited for the storm to pass.


End file.
